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Nebraska Basketball: On Thursday night, son had upper hand in matchup

By Danny Jaillet

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 04: Jack Hoiberg #10 of the Michigan State Spartans speaks to the media in the locker room prior to the 2019 NCAA Tournament Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 4, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 04: Jack Hoiberg #10 of the Michigan State Spartans speaks to the media in the locker room prior to the 2019 NCAA Tournament Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 4, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images) /
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Nebraska basketball was defeated by Jack Hoiberg and Michigan State.

I forgot to touch on this Nebraska basketball storyline Thursday night. It’s probably worth looking at again. After all, it’s not too often that a father gets to play his son on the opposite team. That was the case with Nebraska basketball head coach Fred Hoiberg and his son, Jack Hoiberg.

Jack is a sophomore point guard who measures in at five-foot-11, 175 pounds. He played in five minutes of the ballgame, and was particularly efficient. He scored four points and tallied two assists and a rebound as well. As somebody who doesn’t see a ton of action, this was Jack’s most playing time of the season to this point. He certainly made the most of it.

For what it’s worth, he has actually seen a minutes increase from 1.3 in 2018-19 to 3.2 in 2019-20.

Those numbers may not seem impressive. However, the fact that he made the Michigan State basketball team is impressive in of itself. Only a sophomore, he could have the opportunity for more playing time in the future. Tom Izzo’s bunch certainly has a ton of talent, and that was evident on Thursday night as Michigan State beat Nebraska handily by a 86-65 result.

It was certainly not a tough night for the guys from East Lansing. They hit the three-point shot with efficiency. They also seemed to crash the glass with relative ease, and it was a great overall night for them. They played extremely balanced. That seems to be a trademark for many of Tom Izzo’s teams.

It must’ve been pretty cool to see your son out on the court. It’s extremely evident that basketball runs in the Hoiberg family. When you look at Fred’s basketball pedigree, it only makes sense that his son would be able to land at Michigan State. Following the game, Fred had a rather humorous quote for the media. In what was a difficult loss, seeing his son succeed must’ve eased the pain a little bit.

"“We’re sitting there before the game and one of the coaches always brings in the numbers of the starters. And I see 5, 11, 25, and 10,” Fred Hoiberg said. “And I’m like, ’10? Who the hell? Oh, s—, that’s Jack.'”"

You’ve heard the expression “Father knows best.” On Thursday night, it was his son Jack who had the upper hand. It was fun to watch, and it certainly provided a storyline within the game. Hopefully, this will not be the last time that we get to see this family-friendly rivalry play out.

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